The present invention relates to a diskette storage box for one or more audio, audio-visual or computer media disks, including CDs, CD-ROMs, CD-RWs, DVDs and the like.
Compact disks that store music (e.g., CD), data (e.g., CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW) and video (e.g., DVD) are quite common and are in wide-spread usage. These types of disks commonly are stored in plastic storage boxes known as jewel boxes. Generally, these boxes include some sort of central retaining mechanism that holds a disk by utilizing the disk""s center hole. Examples of various types of boxes are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,022, U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,084, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,582, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 438,418, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 439,786, U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,181, U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,068, U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,926, U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,427 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,713.
Some of the boxes shown in these patents require that an undesirable force be exerted on a disk to facilitate removal. Other boxes disclosed alleviate this problem but do so in a manner that requires excessive pressure be exerted on the central retaining mechanism before the disk is released. Still other box designs, while alleviating this problem, retain a disk in a somewhat flimsy manner. Yet further designs utilize retaining mechanisms that tend to fail, for example, by breaking or losing their retaining capability, after repeated usage, that is, after a disk in inserted into and removed from the box multiple times.
It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a disk storage box that overcomes the problems associated with prior art designs.
If is a further object of the present invention to provide a disk storage box that allows for the insertion and removal of disks in a quick, easy and efficient manner.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
In accordance with the present invention, a box for retaining a disk having a center hole includes a front cover, and a rear cover adapted to retain a disk having a center hole, the front and rear covers being rotatably attached so that the box can be opened and closed by movement of the front cover away and toward the rear cover. The rear cover includes a flat rear surface and a disk retaining mechanism integral with the flat rear surface for retaining the disk. The disk retaining mechanism includes a plurality of first surfaces extending upward from the flat rear surface, each of the plurality of first surfaces extending inwards towards a center position of the disk retaining mechanism, the center position being aligned with a center of the disk when retained by the disk retaining mechanism. The disk retaining mechanism further includes plural riser tabs, and each riser tab is attached to and extends upwards from a respective one of the plurality of first surfaces. The disk retaining mechanism also includes plural retaining tabs, and each retaining tab is attached to a top of a respective riser tab. Each retaining tab extends outwardly away from the center position, and the retaining tabs are sized and positioned relative to the rear cover so as to retain the disk by being disposed immediately above the inner periphery of the disk. Finally, the disk retaining mechanism includes a riser tabs limiting device that is coupled to the plurality of riser tabs for limiting an amount of movement of those riser tabs.
As an aspect of the present invention, the retaining tabs limiting device is a center release button that is attached to each of the riser tabs. The center release button is adapted to move the retaining tabs toward the center position of the disk retaining mechanism when the center release button is depressed so that a retained disk is released upon the depression of the center release button.
As another aspect of the present invention, the center release button is attached to the bottom of each of the riser tabs and the center release button is sized to limit inward movement of each of the riser tabs upon depression of the center release button.
As a further aspect of the present invention, the disk retaining mechanism includes four first surfaces, four riser tabs and four retaining tabs, each of the first surfaces, riser tabs and retaining tabs are disposed concentrically around the center position so that the four riser tabs form a square shaped opening with a center aligned with the center position.
As an additional aspect, each of the four first surfaces includes a respective protruding surface and a horizontal surface attached and integral to the protruding surface so that an inner circular portion of the retained disk immediately adjacent to its center hole rests on each of the horizontal surfaces of the four first surfaces.
As a feature of the present invention, the disk retaining mechanism further includes four second surfaces disposed concentrically around the center position between a respective pair of adjacent first surfaces and extending upward from the flat rear surface of the rear cover towards the center position of the disk retaining mechanism. Each of the four second surfaces is integral with a respective horizontal surface disposed between a respective pair of horizontal surfaces of the four first surfaces so that substantially the entire inner circular portion of the retained disk rests on the horizontal surfaces of the four first surfaces and the horizontal surfaces integral with the four second surfaces.
As another feature of the present invention, the box includes a second disk retaining mechanism for retaining a second disk.
As a further feature of the present invention, all of the components are integral with one another.